CHAPTER 76

"Bargain for what?"

His voice was now above her. When she looked up into the trees, all she could see were a pair of blazing eyes. He was backlit by the fading light of day, so little else was visible.

"I am building a new world, Abella. A place where creatures like us can be free to be ourselves. No hiding away from the men in white coats. No curious humans. This place could be our oasis, a land that we can call our own."

"You are offering me...real estate? To betray my Caretaker?" She sighed in disgust. "I was honestly expecting something better. I decline."

He shook his head. "I offer far more than real estate. This is a legacy. This man of yours, how long is he truly expected to live? Whatever he offers you will be gone in a matter of decades, but this?" He gestured at the woods around them. "I wish to build a paradise that will be here long after humans cease to walk this world. Caretakers come and go, but this place will be my legacy. And perhaps yours, too."

Abella frowned. "You don't even know me, but wish to share centuries with me?"

"We have a lot in common." He crouched down and steepled his hands together. His fingers were tipped with claws. "Shunned by mankind. Immortal, in our own way. How many years of blinding loneliness have you experienced? Nights spent with naught but the stars to keep you company? I once went over a decade without speaking to another living being, and I wonder if you've done the same."

Abella tightened her lips. In fact, she had. After being abandoned by the clan, she had spent years in absolute silence with only the birds to keep her company. On occasion, she hid herself at street level in the city just so she could close her eyes and pretend to be part of the conversations of people as they walked past.

"How many men have tried to kill you?" he continued. "How many times have you heard the ominous cocking of a gun, or the ringing of steel being drawn, just because you looked different? Ever been hunted? I have."

She shook her head, trying to shut him out. There had been a few close calls with the Order, times she had flown until her wings ached from exertion. They had no way of knowing if she was a threat, and she found it hard to blame them. While her clan had been content to remain in the shadows, others of her kind had made sport of terrifying peasants in the countryside.

"You looked so peaceful when you were flying. Almost like an angel." He stood up and waved his arms around. "The sky above would be your paradise. I could even have the little people build you a home, a place for you alone. And while it may seem empty at first, I would dedicate myself to bringing others like you here. Creatures that are misunderstood, that have been vilified by history. This new world would be ours alone, and we could ride out the rest of eternity without a care in the world."

"I knew someone who tried something similar." Abella scowled, remembering Emily's efforts to populate the house. "Your intentions may be good, but I question your methods."

"On this, we agree. You cannot make an omelette without first cracking some eggs." He chuckled, and the trees trembled. "For example, the Arachne is a problem that deserves to be cracked, don't you agree?"

"What would you have of me?" she asked, curious what he would say. The offer to deal with Velvet was obviously tailored for her, and she could detect an undercurrent of untruth to it.

"I couldn't ask you to turn on the others," he said. "It would be too hard, they are your friends. But maybe I could open the barrier and you could just...leave for a few days. Make it that much easier for me to finish what I started."

"And what of the Caretaker?" she asked.

"You still feel for him, and I understand." He reached down and touched her hair with a bony claw. His cowl shifted, and she thought she saw horns inside. "But does he feel the same about you? I had hoped to avoid the Caretaker's involvement, but now that he is here, he is another egg that needs cracking."

"So you would kill him?"

He sighed. "Humans are unpredictable. Perhaps he and I will speak and come to an arrangement. I would even lie on your behalf and explain that I trapped you outside. This place could be here waiting for you after he dies many years from now, he would never have to know."

Abella frowned. This guy was laying it on thick. Why did he need her to leave so bad? What was she missing?

"And if you can't come to an agreement?" she asked.

"I think you know the answer. I shouldn't have to say it." He almost sounded sad. "I can't make any guarantees. I have my own goals to pursue, and I won't be stopped."

"Why even attack the cabin in the first place? Why not just walk up and knock? This place was meant to be a refuge, why not just ask to be included?"

"I have...bad blood with one of the occupants. It wouldn't have worked."

"Yet here you are, trying to get me to turn on my family?" She could feel a fire building inside of her chest. "To get me to simply walk away? How could you ever trust someone willing to do that to the ones they love?"

"You love no one!" His voice was magnified, and the shadows all around her twisted about. "You think because he doesn't look at you with disgust that you are actually loved? Do you think he actually values you? Thinks of you as an equal? You fill a need, and nothing more."

She thought back to how Mike had held her hand in the forest. The times she had fought for him, and the times he had fought for them. He had bought her a tablet to watch movies so she wouldn't get bored, had visited her on the roof just to say hi. Whenever he dropped by for a chat, he didn't see a monster or a guard dog. He saw her as a person.